Colombia, among the three most attractive countries to invest

The accolade was made by the FDI Association, during the first FDI Awards in China .. Proexport Colombia was exalted by this organization as one of the key players for attracting investment to the country.

The work that Proexport Colombia is doing to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been key in naming Colombia as the future global investment destination during the first FDI Awards this week.

This was emphasized by the Foreign Direct Investment Association, an organization dedicated to promoting investment between countries, connecting corporate leaders with investment promotion agencies, such as Proexport Colombia and other private and public institutions in the world that encourage business development.

In the category of future investment destination, Colombia was the only country that was chosen in the continent. In addition, jurors praised Proexport Colombia as an example for similar promotion entities.

“It is a very treasured recognition and a vote of confidence in Colombia as an attractive business-friendly destination, and to our organization that has launched in over 30 countries, a strategy which allows us to provide personalized information to companies that have expansion plans and offer them ongoing and confidential support to help them explore the opportunities the Colombian regions are able to offer”. Said Maria Claudia Lacouture, president of Proexport Colombia.

Mark Arend, editor of Site Selection Magazine, a specialized media outlet reaching 49,000 corporate executives and co-organizer of the awards said, “ the recognition of these promotional agencies can only mean that you have best practices attracting foreign investment worldwide. They show that policies that are in place definitely exceeded the expectations of foreign investors when they settle in a country.”

In their official communication, the FDI Association makes a special recognition to the work of advertising agencies and their crucial role in attracting foreign capital. “They work hard and accomplish great things, usually with limited budgets. When a company makes a significant investment the media headlines concentrate on the company, in the amount and the number of jobs created. If a promotion agency played a role in that investment, their job is sometimes inconspicuous and even invisible. These awards aim to highlight the professionalism and creativity of their work ”.

During the IDF Awards, first place as an investment destination was awarded to the city of Birmingham, in the UK, and the third place to the Czech Republic alongside Colombia, which were honored during the World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment in Shanghai (China).

The judges who selected the winners were Andreas Dressler, the director of Global Terrain; Jason Hickey, the president of Hickey & Associates; Yin Hong, director of Jones Lang LaSalle China; Roel Spee, global leader of international plant location for IBM; Shirar O’Connor, director of The PONT Group ‘s; Robert Pittman, director of Janus Economics and David East, director of FDI Intelligence.

During 2013, Proexport Colombia facilitated the arrival of 55 investment projects worth an estimated investment of U.S. $ 1.519 Billion and the creation of 10,280 new jobs in 15 departments.
The source of these investments came from the United States (17), Spain (6), Canada (5) Argentina (5) The United Kingdom (4), Chile (3) France (2) India (2) Brazil (2) China (2) Venezuela (2) The United Arab Emirates (1), Germany (1), Portugal (1) Puerto Rico (1) and Guatemala (1).

Sectors and regions where investors plan to create jobs through their projects: